The invention concerns a method for the automatic control of a guided vehicle, e.g. a magnetic suspension vehicle, which during its travel is advanced along a predetermined line with a driving force dependent on the line profile and successively passes through stopping regions. The invention also concerns an apparatus with a line on which guided, automatically controllable vehicles, e.g. magnetic suspension vehicles travel, with stopping regions installed along the line and with a device for automatic control of the vehicles.
When employing methods and apparatuses of this kind, up to now it has been usual, if emergency or breakdown suituations arise, to perform automatic train stop or emergency braking immediately until the vehicle comes to a standstill (German patent application Nos. 17 63 748 and 28 49 008). Here, an "emergency situation" means a situation which threatens the lives of the passengers, e.g. a fire breaking out in the vehicle, and a "breakdown situation" on the other hand means a situation which considerably impairs the serviceability or operational reliability of the vehicle, e.g. failure of the drive or power supply. The result of the safety concept pursued up to now is that on account of automatic train stop the vehicle comes to a standstill in a more or less random place, i.e. uncontrolled, and therefore requires that along the while line at the very least ways are provided for the passengers to get out, and preferably also means of evacuating the passengers as well as access routes for rescue services of all kinds.
In case of above-ground wheel/rail vehicles, the fitting of escape and access routes alongside the line involves considerable expanditure, particularly in the region of tunnels, bridges, crossings with roads or pathless terrain. In case of underground vehicles, the expenditure is even greater. Finally in case of suspension, particularly magnetic suspension railways or the like, which are guided on tracks which are supported on stands at a height of several meters above ground, then the problems are multiplied on accound of the fact that to carry out rescue measures, steps, ladders, chutes, footbridges, mobile cranes or the like are required as well.
The many problems which arise particularly when emergency situations occur have already been described a great number of times ("Fire prevention," Deutsche Feuerwehr-Zeitung, 7/1987, pp. 275-277; VFDB (Association for the Promotion of German Fire Prevention) 1/86, pp. 20-24). Now and then it has also been pointed out in this connection that stopping a vehicle in a tunnel when an emergency situation arises is almost never justified and can only aggravate the situation (Railway Gazette International, January, 1988, pp. 27, 28). This has also been recognised by the Federal German Railways; according to their safety concept, if emergnecy and breadkown situations arise, the vehicles should still be capable of running "for a certain minimum period," operation of the emergency brakes by the motor coach driver should make it possible to continue travelling to a "convenient" stopping position, i.e. not lead to immediate stopping of the train on account of automatic train stop, and stopping in tunnels should be avoided (Die Bundesbahn 7/1986, pp. 491-494; 112 Magazin der Feuerwehr, 11 (1986) 7, pp. 338-348).
Even a safety philosophy of this kind cannot meet all requirements in emergency and breakdown situations, as it presupposes reliable functioning of the drive systems. If these fail partly or completely, then it is not possible to reach the end of a tunnel, bridge or the like, so that there are no discernible advantages over immediate stopping by automatic train stop.
By contrast it is the object of the invention to propose a novel safety concept and for this purpose to design the method and apparatus mantioned hereinbefore in such a way that with comparatively simple means and comparatively little expenditure, a large number of difficulties which arise in emergency and breakdown situations can be met.